DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL BY PASTOR W.F.KUMUYI, SATURDAY 25th MAY 2019.
TOPIC: TRUSTING AND WAITING
BIBLE TEXT: 1 Kings 18:1-16
1. And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth.2. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.3. And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly;4. For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophets, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.)5. And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks; peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts.6. So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it; Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself.7. And as Obadiah was in the way, behold, Elijah met him; and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah?8. And he answered him, I am; go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.9. And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?10. As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee; and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not.11. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here.12. And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me; but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth.13. Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, how I hid an hundred men of the LORD’S prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water?14. And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here; and he shall slay me.15. And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day.16. So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him; and Ahab went to meet Elijah.
KEY VERSE: 1 Kings 18:1,2
“And it came to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria.”
DAILY MANNA DEVOTIONAL MESSAGE FOR TODAY
The line, if any, between faith and trusting is a very thin one. Faith is trusting that God is going to take you to a promised place long before you even get there. They that trust Him wait on Him.
Elijah is the subject of the passage under consideration. The Lord had sent him to prophesy a famine of long duration over the land of Israel. Dangerous as the assignment appeared to be, Elijah went, not fearing the wrath of Ahab.
To help him escape the persecution and famine that would ensue, God hid him somewhere along the water course of the brook Cherith and sent ravens to feed him continuously for over six months when the river dried up. He never complained but waited for the Lord who now directed him to the house of a poor widow woman in Sarepta.
Of course, a poor widow woman’s home may not provide all the comfort of an ideal home but that was the place Elijah waited for 3 years in hope of direction and fresh leading from the Lord. When the word eventually came, the Lord asked Elijah to go and appear to Ahab who was in search of him to take his life.
Waiting is hard work especially when you do not know how long you are to wait. It can be a test of faith. The proof that we trust Him is our ability to wait patiently in prayer. We must pray and wait for the coming of the Lord.
We must wait in faith after we have prayed. We must wait for the desires we longed for to be granted. Our patience is proved if we maintain consistent virtues while we wait. It is not sufficient to profess the new birth; we must be prepared to trust God for His word and patiently wait for Him to perform them.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY: He who waits patiently on God is sure to receive His blessings.
THE BIBLE IN ONE YEAR: 1 Samuel 10-11
DAILY MANNA devotional shared via www.thedevotionals.com
